Advertising Throughout The Eras

-Note to the Teacher-

Enduring Understanding-Advertisements can be infomative, persuasive, and/or bias, typically for purposes to sell a product or promote an idea.

FOCUS-Use the Parallel Curriculum Model, with focus on the Curriculum of Identity. Ask your students to approach their work as practitioners in the fields- Advertisers, Historians, Economists, Public Relations Agents, Graphic Designers. Consider having students gather within their roles to engage in a Socratic Seminar or Paideia Seminar.

Instructional Strategies-I would strongly suggest using Kaplan's Depth and Complexity when analyzing diverse formats of advertising. For example, Change over Time, Perspectives, Trends, Patterns, Details, and Ethics would be strongly encouraged. Suggestions for Content Imperatives might include: Convergence, Parallel, Paradox, Origin, and Contribution.

Consider using Paul's Elements of Reasoning when analyzing a series of advertisements within a time period, or a single advertisement in isolation.

Product Ideas-Use Sternberg's Triarchy to generate creative, practical, and analytical tasks aligned with the advertisement of the time period. Problem Based Learning (current events, trends) would highly encourage student-centered learning, grounded in real-world context.

Use As Propaganda-Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community towards a cause of position so as to benefit oneself or one's group. Idea-Consider analyzing sub-topics such as "bandwagon propaganda" and "testimonial propaganda."

Product Idea-Use Paul's Elements of Reasoning to analyze issues and problems surrounding advertising.

Creative and Problem Solving Ideas-

Have students create Public Service Announcements based on teacher-generated, critical thinking prompts.

Invite community members associated with adverstising into the classroom (or conduct a skype session); have the students generate higher-level questions based on their critical thinking.

Have students conduct surveys and/or research to determine how effective advertisement is in today's society (based on diverse levels of social, emotional, political, and economic). Ideas vary from products featured in commercials, political campaigns, magazine articles, newscasts, and newspaper articles.

Questions To Consider:

Does the advertisement aim to persuade or inform readers, and how do you know?

Is there evidence of bias, and if so, how do you know?

What group does the advertisement try to reach?

What are the intentions of the advertisers?

What publication did it appear in, with what kind of readership (audience)?

Questions For the Students:

What is the purpose of the ad? What is the ad trying to accomplish?

What outside influences exist?

Who is the intended audience? How do you know?

What do ads reveal or conceal about the time?

What else do you need to know to analyze an ad?

PRINT ADVERTISING

American Advertising: A Brief History- http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads/amadv.html

"In United States history, advertising has responded to changing business demands, media technologies, and cultural contexts, and it is here, not in a fruitless search for the very first advertisement, that we should begin. In the eighteenth century, many American colonists enjoyed imported British consumer products such as porcelain, furniture, and musical instruments, but also worried about dependence on imported manufactured goods."

19th Century-